President Obama answered questions on LGBT rights, natural gas extraction, and strengthening small businesses during his first campaign town hall of the 2012 cycle. The toughest question? A little girl wanted to know the president’s favorite flavor of Girl Scout cookies.
“I’m pretty partial to those mint” cookies, Obama replied.
Obama began the Cincinnati, Ohio, event by criticizing presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney’s tax proposals, citing a Tax Notes report that said Romney’s plan would create 800,000 jobs overseas.
“We have not found any serious economic study that says Governor Romney's economic plan would actually create jobs until today,” Obama said. “I've got to be honest. Today we found out there's a new study out by nonpartisan economists that says Governor Romney's economic plan would in fact create 800,000 jobs. There's only one problem: The jobs wouldn't be in America.”
The president stuck to his core election message: supporting the middle class and protecting an American ethos of fairness and equal rights. He also explained why his campaign has appropriated the term ‘Obamacare,’ originally coined by conservatives to disparage the 2010 health care law.
“I don’t mind the name because I really do care. That’s why we passed it,” Obama said.